Alexander Junior High School will be under Rod Henderson’sleadership and Johnny Waller, the school’s current principal, willmove to the district office when the new school year starts July1.

In a recent board meeting, the Brookhaven School District Boardof Trustees created a new position of administrative assistant forWaller and to move Henderson into the top spot at Alexander.

“This is a central office position, he’ll pick up lots ofresponsibilities that we’ve been trying to handle ourselves,” saidDistrict Superintendent Lea Barrett said about Waller’s newduties.

Meanwhile, Barrett said Henderson is just the man for the AJHSjob as well.

“I think he’s going to be a wonderful principal,” Barrett said.”He has a strong history in this city and this community. He’s aBrookhaven High School graduate, he’s been outstanding as a coach,he has wonderful people skills, and he’s excited about the job asprincipal.”

Henderson said part of what makes the promotion such an honor isthe concept of serving as the top dog at a school he enjoyed somuch as a teenager.

“It’s an incredible honor to be named to this position,” hesaid. “I really enjoyed my time at Alexander as a student, andthere’s a lot of tradition there. To have this opportunity to bethe leader at this school, I just can’t put it into words.”

And Henderson, who has 13 years in education, 10 of which arewith the Brookhaven School District, already has a plan of actionfor when he takes the helm.

“There are a number of things I have in mind that I’d like todo,” he said. “I’m excited about the possibility of targetingat-risk students, and making sure that they are encouraged tocontinue education. I think it’s important to let them know theycan make it and they have the same opportunity of any student thatwalks through those doors.”

Henderson said moving into the position of principal means thathe will retire his career as a coach. He said he made that decisionbecause he had planned to be in coaching for 15 years, and 13 isclose enough.

“I love coaching but it’s time to move on to another arena ofeducation, and this is a great opportunity,” he said. “No doubtabout it, I’m going to miss it, but this timing is perfect.”

Henderson said he is grateful for the guidance he had underWaller, who he said will be a great addition to the districtteam.

“I really appreciate Mr. Waller’s encouragement, he was anexcellent mentor,” Henderson said. “Hopefully I can continue thejob that he began, and make sure that Alexander is known for itsacademic excellence and our preparation of these students to begood citizens when they go out into the world.”

Meanwhile, Waller said he is ready to begin his new duties.

“I’m excited about it and looking forward to working with thedistrict team and moving the district forward,” he said.

Barrett said the district always had at least a deputysuperintendent and two assistants in the years before heradministration. She said Deputy Superintendent James Tillman and shhave been running the show, and could actually use the help of athird administrative person in the central office.

“Mr. Tillman’s been doing double duty to make sure we’ve goteverything covered,” Barrett said.

Waller’s new position will include a lot of data analysis,Barrett said.

“With all of the data analysis we’re doing now, that’s prettytime consuming,” she said. “We’re using so many differentassessment instruments to diagnose where our programs are weak orstrong, as well as our children, and we need a central person whocan analyze that data and make sure we’re using iteffectively.”

Waller, who was the principal at AJHS for three years, said oneof the important things about the work he’ll be doing is that notonly will it inform the district office on progress, but it willinform teachers on what they’re doing well and what needs to bedone better.

“We’ll be looking at testing and how to analyze that data andhelp teachers to help students to do the best that they can,” hesaid. “We want to make sure teachers have access to that data tomake sure they are aware of what their instruction isaccomplishing.”

From his track record, Barrett said, Waller is exactly the manfor the job.

“In terms of data analysis, Mr. Waller has really demonstrated astrong grasp on the implications that data has for the actions thata school or school district needs to take,” she said. “I think hecan really be helpful to us in assessing our strengths andweaknesses, because certainly we don’t want to waste tax dollars onprograms that are not effective.”

And he hopes to bring a different perspective to the table,Waller said.

“It’s going to be different for me, and I’m looking forward tothe challenge,” he said. “I plan look at things from a differentangle, and perhaps bring a broader perspective.”